The Commoner Way
by Kaudrey
Summary: It wasn't every day that the Shadow King showed up at your doorstep in the rain, completely soaked and carrying nothing more then a single suit case. Then again, Haruhi Fujioka's life had never been exactly normal, had it?
1. Chapter 1

**Hm. Okay, I know that I should be updating my other story but I'm still stuck on inspiration for that one. So what do I do? I start a new story, of course. **

**I'm sorry, I imagined a scenario where Kyoya suddenly lost all his money and had to figure out how to live life as a commoner, and the situation was too good to pass up. Plus, I love me some good Haruhi/Kyoya friendship. (This'll purely be friendship, though I may or may not have one-sided Kyoya/Haruhi on Kyoya's side later on, since I do love the pairing also but I do feel like it would be purely Kyoya based, and Haruhi wouldn't return the feelings, or otherwise be completely oblivious to them. I haven't decided if I'm going to do that with this or not. Most likely, it'll stick to friendship.**

**I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters.**

* * *

_Rain is nice, _Haruhi Fujioka decided as she brushed her teeth. She could hear the sound of the rain hitting against the small bathroom window. It was calming. A gentle sort of rhythm. Besides, animals and plants need the rain to survive. So, rain was nice. _When thunder isn't involved, anyway. _She looked up when she heard a knock of the door.

_Dad probably forgot his keys again. Has he ever heard of a key chain?_

Who else would come at this hour?

With an annoyed huff, and toothbrush still in her mouth, she made her way over to the door, and slowly opened it.

"Dad, you need to stop forgetting your-" She began with a mouth full of toothpaste, and her blue toothbrush resting in her cheek. But she stopped when she saw who was standing in front of her.

"Haruhi."

She blinked to make sure that she was seeing right. Yes, she definitely was. Standing in front of her was none other then Kyoya Ootori. What on _earth _was he doing here? At nine-O-clock at night, soaking wet, and carrying a... suitcase?

"Haruhi, I'm drenched and really not in the best of moods. Let's skip the formalities. Can I come in?" He asked, knocking Haruhi out of her thoughts. He spoke in a tone of voice that suggested he was probably coming in whether she liked it or not. She blinked at him again.

"O-oh, er, yes. Come on in." She muttered through her toothpaste, stepping out of the way for him. He nodded in thanks and walked in, dragging his suit case in behind him. She held up her finger indicating for him to wait a moment, and quickly went to the bathroom sink to spit out the toothpaste. She grabbed a towel while she was in there. She had half expected Kyoya to be gone, like it had been her imagination this whole time. But when she stepped out, he was still there, standing a bit awkwardly, apparantly unsure if he should venture any furthur into the house. It was quite a sight.

"Jeez, did you walk here or something, Kyoya-Senpai?" She asked, handing him the towel.

"Yes."

Haruhi stared at him, she'd meant that as a joke. Kyoya's house, she knew, was on the other side of town. Had he walked all that way in the rain? What would posses someone to do that? Why hadn't he'd just taken his driver, or called a taxi if he wanted to talk to her so bad? And in the pouring rain, no less.

"Oh. Well, I think dad has some old clothes that I'm sure he wouldn't mind you borrowing, just so that you're in something dry, if you'd like?" She asked uncertainly.

"No, thank you. I've got some clothes in here. Do you have somewhere I can change?" Haruhi's eyes travelled down to the suitcase in his hand."Right that way." She said, pointing to the bathroom door. "You can change in there." He nodded and walked to the washroom.

She decided to make some tea.

Haruhi was boiling the water when she noticed Kyoya walk into the kitchen, fresh clothes on and a towel around his neck.

"Do you need any help?" He asked from the doorway.

"Er- no. I've got it. Thanks. You can wait over there." And Kyoya left without another word.

It was a few moments later when Haruhi finished making the tea, and walked to the table. She gave him his cup, watching him for a moment as he took a sip.

"So, Kyoya-Senpai, are you planning on telling me what you're doing here?" She finally asked.

Kyoya put his cup down.

"Is your father home?" He asked instead of answering her question.

Haruhi shook her head. "He hasn't come home yet. I think he's working late and forgot to call."

"I see. Well, in that case... I seem to have a situation on my hands, see. It is a bit embarrassing, I must admit. Usually I'd go to Tamaki or one of the other club members, however while they mean well they usually can't keep a secret to save their lives. And in this case, my _situation _must be kept a secret. We can't hurt the Ootori reputation."

_Hurt the Ootori reputation? What on earth is he talking about?_

"What's wrong, Senpai?"

He sighed a little bit. "To make a long story short, my father has managed to freeze our bank accounts. Until we manage to fix it, the Ootories are nearly completely broke. Father had to fire all of our staff, including my driver. I didn't even have enough money in my wallet to pay for a taxi, which is why I had to walk. Father is currently stuck in America, he was making a deal to expand the Ootori business when the account froze. He hadn't known when he was coming home, so he hadn't bought a return ticket. Now he can't even afford a plane ticket back." Kyoya shook his head a bit.

Haruhi stared at him. _Broke? _

"I'm sorry, Kyoya-Senpai." How must it feel to be one of the richest families in Japan, and then the next day have next to nothing? He couldn't even afford a _taxi _to get over here.

"Mm. Anyway, having a reputation to uphold wasn't the only reason I didn't go to Tamaki or one of the others. Until we can fix our accounts, which may prove difficult as my father is in America, it seems I have to live the life of a commoner. I got orders from father to not be in the estate until we sort this out, as to not raise the bills. So really, what I'm saying is I need a place to stay. And for someone to... ah... _teach me _how to live as a commoner, at least for the time being." Kyoya finished with a sip of his tea.

"And you want me to do that?"

"You're the only commoner I know." He said with a shrug.

Right.

Haruhi sighed. "I'll have to ask dad, but I'm sure he'll say yes. He loves you." She said, somewhat reluctantly. She wasn't all too thrilled at the thought of Kyoya becoming her housemate, but who was she to turn him down when she was, if she thought about it, his only option?

Kyoya smiled at her. "Excellent. Where will I sleep?"

_Oh, mom!_

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**As always, thank you for reading and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters.**

* * *

Haruhi had arrived at class the next day later then usual. There was two reasons for that, and both of them could be traced back to Kyoya Ootori.

First, she'd slept in. They'd had to wait until her father came home to ask if Kyoya could stay, as to prevent any confusions as to why he was sleeping in their house. Ranka hadn't arrived until nearly midnight, which was far later then Haruhi was used to staying up. Usually she was out by nine-thirty at the latest. She had been right, though. Ranka was more then thrilled to have Kyoya as a house guest. Sleeping arrangements had been made by pulling out the spare futon and placing it in the living area. They hadn't used the futon in many years, so it had gathered quite a lot of dust. They'd had to clean it before Kyoya could sleep on it. By the time this was done, it was about one-o'-clock in the morning.

And Ranka had to go to work early, because the guy who usually got the first shift called in sick, so he hadn't been able to wake her up when she slept past her alarm. And Kyoya had slept in as well, apparently used to having a maid wake him up.

After that, the two (unfortunately) had to skip breakfast so they could catch the train. Then once they arrived at the train station, Kyoya seemed to have forgotten to mention in his tired state that he didn't have a train pass. And so, they were forced to walk.

It was a three mile walk.

Finally she arrived in class, an hour late, hungry, tired, and all around in an awful mood.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she apologized to the teacher as she walked in, hurrying to her seat. She hadn't payed attention to what he said afterward, and ignored the looks that the twins were giving her, instead opting to pull out her text book. She buried her face in her book, feeling the burning stares from the rest of her classmates. A few moments later, after the teacher had continued talking, she noticed a folded sheet of paper land on her desk. She opened it and instantly recognized Kaoru's messy handwriting.

_Is everything alright?_

Haruhi glanced over at the twins, who were both looking at her with concern written on her faces. She could understand why- Haruhi Fujioka _didn't _show up late looking like she'd just woken up, then forced to walk three miles every day. Haruhi wrote her note underneath his.

_Yes. I just slept in. Forgot to set my alarm._

She passed it to Hikaru, who read it with Kaoru. Though she could see the bit of doubt on their faces, they didn't seem to question it more. Haruhi sighed, and turned her attention to her text book once more. She'd have to ask them for notes on what she missed later.

She may have dozed off a couple of times throughout the day.

Then, finally, it was time for the Host Club. The only reason she was looking forward to it was because there would be snacks. In a rush to get ready and get to the train on time, she hadn't been able to make a lunch, either. So she hadn't eaten all day. Pushing open the door to music room three, Haruhi and the twins seemed to be the first to get there. But it was only a moment later when Honey and Mori announced their arrival by a "Haru-Chan!" from Honey, and a grunt of hello from Mori.

"Honey-Senpai, Mori-Senpai." She greeted with a nod and a smile.

"Haru-Chan, are you alright? You look tired." Honey asked from on top of Mori's shoulders.

Luckily, she was spared from answering with the arrival of Tamaki and Kyoya.

"Haruhi!" At seeing her, Tamaki gave her a hug which was, quite honestly, more of an attack. "Daddy was so worried about you, my darling! How have you been?"

"Tamaki-Senpai I just saw you yesterday, now get off me!" She was in such a foul mood that she didn't bother telling him off for calling her his daughter. She managed to pry herself out of his grasp, which caused Tamaki to go into his corner of woe, as she liked to call it. He was muttering something about daughter not loving daddy anymore. Haruhi sighed, and glanced over at Kyoya.

He seemed to be doing well, considering. Or rather, at least better then she was. At least he didn't seem to be falling asleep on spot, which was what she felt like doing. Maybe he was just a good actor. But then again, going by the dirty looks he was shooting Hikaru and Kaoru's way while they pestered Tamaki in his corner, and at Honey-Senpai, who was doing nothing more then being his usual sing-song, cutesy self, maybe he was in just a bad of mood as she.

"Will you three knock it off? The guests will be here any moment." He scolded in Hikaru, Kaoru, and Tamaki's direction. "Do you want them to see you acting like a bunch of idiots?"

They stopped.

"Jeez, what's got him in a mood?" Hikaru asked his brother and Tamaki, who had come out of his corner of woe. Haruhi wasn't sure if he had meant to say that quietly or not, but either way it was loud enough for the whole room to hear it. They shrugged.

"He's been like that all day, ever since he showed up late for class." Said Tamaki.

"Hey, Kyoya-Senpai showed up late? So did Haruhi." Kaoru said after a moment.

"Maybe they were together."

"You know. On a date."

"No! I couldn't bare the thought! Kyoya-Senpai with my sweet little Haruhi? He would never do that to daddy!"

"Yeah, you're right. Besides, Haruhi would never go for someone like Kyoya."

"We're still in the room, you know." Haruhi and Kyoya said in unison, irritation clear in their voices. They went silent. Then;

"Oh, Kyoya! Say it isn't so! Tell me you weren't with my precious Haruhi!" Haruhi glanced at Kyoya, who pushed his glasses up with a sigh.

"Haruhi and I were _not _together, Tamaki. It is purely coincidence that we were both late."

Thank god for his ability to lie.

"I don't see how it is any of your business if we were together or not, anyway." Haruhi piped up, crossing her arms. Tamaki pulled her into another one of those attack-hugs.

"Daddy just wants to protect you, little Haruhi! Who knows what kind of men are out there?"

"You're not my dad."

"They're _both _in fowl moods." Hikaru and Kaoru said, both of whom were safely hidden behind Mori, who agreed with a nod of his head. Honey was silent as he watched things play out, apparently trying to work out what was going on.

"Let _go _of me, Senpai!"

Haruhi's annoyed cry was drowned out by loud sighs. They all went silent and turned around, Tamaki let go of Haruhi.

"Ah, it seems our guests have arrived." Kyoya said. The girls sighed again.

* * *

**And the second chapter is up.**

**And I still haven't updated my other story.**

**This was my first time writing them all together. How did I do?**

**Thank you for reading, and please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

They'd had to wait to be the last ones there before they could leave, so that no one would see them walking back to Haruhi's together. Since they were usually two of the last to leave anyway, this hadn't been a problem or raised any suspicions. So once everyone was gone, the two grabbed their bags and ventured on the three mile walk back.

On the plus side, since she'd had something to eat Haruhi was in a bit of a better mood then before.

But by the looks of it, Kyoya wasn't. He walked slightly slouched (_a bit unusual for him_, Haruhi thought.) and his bag thrown lazily over his shoulder. His glasses were flashing dangerously. Haruhi couldn't help but stare at his ruffled state as they walked- it was so unlike the Kyoya she came to know.

"Haruhi, what are you staring at?" Kyoya asked, a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Nothing. I just don't think I've ever seen you look so out of it before." The only time she could think of was when she'd ran into him at the shopping centre, but no, even this was different then that. This couldn't just be because he was hungry- she didn't think she'd seen Kyoya eat during the club, which meant he hadn't eaten since yesterday. And it wasn't just because he was tired, either, because Haruhi thought he actually looked quite awake. She had a funny feeling she knew what it was, but decided to ask anyway."Is something bothering you, Kyoya-Sempai?"

"You and I both know the answer to that, Haruhi."

She sighed a bit. "I'm sure your father will find a way to fix your bank accounts."

"Yes. As soon as he pays off six million yen debt." Kyoya responded with a small scoff.

"Maybe he should just join their club." She teased.

Haruhi could have sworn that there had been a quick, subtle smile on his face. She thought that must have been the first time he'd smiled all day. At least of what she'd seen, anyway.

"At least be glad that he already payed off your school fees so you don't have to transfer."

"Mm, I suppose."

They continued to walk.

"Hey, Kyoya-Sempai?" She started, once they reached her street.

"Yes, Haruhi?"

"I have to go to the market to get some groceries for dinner. You can go home, if you'd like."

Secretly, she wished he'd go home. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stand being with the Low Blood-Pressure Demon Lord. If they weren't walking in a strange sort of silence, he would be making some sort of snarky remark about whatever happened to have crossed his mind at that specific moment. Then it would be back to silence. If she could just get a couple of minutes away from him, hopefully he'd calm down at least a bit. Or, at the very least, get something to eat. Kyoya nodded.

"Any requests for dinner?" She asked.

"Not particularly. I'm not familiar with commoner's food."

_Rich bastard._

Actually, she couldn't use that phase around Kyoya anymore, could she?

_Ex-rich bastard._

There we go.

"Alright. Do you mind taking my bag back?" She asked, holding her bag out. He eyed it for a moment, but nodded and took it. "Thanks." She thought she heard Kyoya mutter something that sounded like a "you're welcome."

Haruhi turned the corner while Kyoya headed straight. She sighed. Finally, some alone time.

* * *

Much later, Kyoya layed on the futon staring up at the ceiling. The room had gone dark hours ago, but he didn't turn on the lights. He thought it might wake Haruhi and Ranka.

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. Damn his lying father. (Paying the taxes? Ha!) Now his entire plan was in jeopardy. His entire _future._ How was he supposed to become the Ootori successor if there wasn't even anything to success? Tamaki's voice came to his head.

_If you really want to surpass your older brothers, you can do it Kyoya._

How was he supposed to pass his older brothers now?

And, on a considerably smaller scale, how was he supposed to fund for the Host Club?

_Damn_ his father.

Kyoya checked his wristwatch, squinting at it in the darkness. Two-thirty AM.

Damn his stupid insomnia.

Maybe some tea would help him fall asleep. He just hoped that Haruhi had some. Kyoya, not bothering to put on his glasses, pushed himself up and into a standing position, then made his way over to the small kitchen. He turned on the kettle, and began to look for the tea.

After opening several cabinets, he finally found some green tea. It seemed to be all that the Fujioka's had. While not his personal favorite, it would do. Kyoya put the tea on the counter, and began to look for the tea cups. Finally, he found them.

And accidentally knocked one off the counter, making it fall to the ground with a horrifying crash.

Then in the darkness, he stepped on some of the broken shards, which pierced the bottom of his foot. Kyoya hissed and clutched his foot, trying not to bleed over the floor.

_Oh, damn it all._

He had to hop one-legged to Haruhi's bedroom. Then, removing one hand from his foot, which was now covered in blood, he knocked on her door. There was silence.

_She's probably asleep, you idiot._

He opened the door.

"Haruhi?"

He saw a lump on the bed that he could only assume was Haruhi. Then he watched as it moved around, and finally a head popped up, followed by arms and a torso.

"Kyoya-Sempai?" She asked, her voice tired and sleepy. "What are you doing in my room at-" her eyes traveled to the alarm clock on her beside table, "-two thirty in the morning? If you're going to be living here we really need to have a talk about this staying up late thing, you know. You may not need your sleep, but I sure do."

"Do you have a first-aid kit?"

She apparently, just noticed him clutching his foot. This seemed to get her awake, and she hopped out of bed and hurried over to him, flicking on the light.

"Are you alright? What happened?" She asked, leading him over to her bed and sitting him down. But she didn't give him time to answer before she continued. "Wait here. I'm going to get some towels so you don't bleed all over my bed." And she was gone, then a few moments later she returned with a couple of towels and a first aid kit. She sat down beside him and put the towel on her lap, then moved his foot onto the towel so she could get a better look. This cause Kyoya to lay down.

"It's pretty deep, but I don't think you'll need stitches." She concluded after a moment of examination, opening up the kit. "How did you manage to do this?"

"There was an incident with a tea cup. I was making some tea and dropped it, and I accidentally stepped on the glass in the dark." She was pulling out some disinfectant now, and put some on a small washcloth.

"You broke one of my tea cups?" She asked, dabbing his cut with the cloth.

"I'm sorry, I'll replace it."

"With what money?"

Oh. Right.

Haruhi sighed. "It's fine." She paused as another thought occurred to her. "What _are _you doing up so late, Kyoya-Sempai?"

"I couldn't sleep." He said, hissing a bit as Haruhi cleaned his wound with the disinfectant.

"Why not?"

He shrugged.

Apparently, she saw past the shrug.

"You're worried about your family's money, aren't you?"

There wasn't any point in putting up an act around Haruhi. He slammed his fists on the bed. "I've worked so hard to become my family's successor. To surpass my older brothers. Now what? Was that all for nothing?"

Haruhi looked up from the cut and stared at him.

"You're still going to become your family's successor, Kyoya-Sempai. If you really want to surpass your brothers, you can do it. Don't give up just because of a set-back. I have complete faith that this will all work out in the end."

Faith.

What good was faith?

Still...

"_If you really want to surpass your brothers, you can do it."_

Kyoya let out a low chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She asked, putting a band-aid over the cut.

"Tamaki said something similar when we were just becoming friends." He said after a moment, with a slight shake of his head.

"Well, then you know it's true." She pushed his foot off her lap, and he sat up again. She closed the kit, and folded up the bloody towel.

"Thank you, Haruhi."

She blinked at him, then smiled. "Just get to bed, Sempai. We don't want another repeat of yesterday."

* * *

**Woo, Kyoya's P.O.V. I was already planning on having his POV in this chapter, so the question about if I could have his in it is answered with a YES.**

**I'll be having more Kyoya-POVs in the future.**

**Thank you for reading, and please tell me what you think so far!**


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